Monday, April 7, 2008

Verbalisms

As anyone who has spent much time around little girls knows, it's rare to get a moment of silence ...usually. That, and my K and M tend to be even more vocal than most. Not only do they love to talk, or "have the gift of gab" as my dad always said about me, but they come up with the most entertaining, intriquing, unique statements.

M last week, after really being naughty most of the afternoon and evening, told me that, "I think my brain isn't going right tonight." Good to know. When in doubt, blame your brain.

This same brain-child informed me that my SIL is going to have a girl, of course, because "the baby is in Aunt J's tummy. If it was a boy, it'd be in Uncle D's tummy." Well, of course. How ridiculous of me. Did I correct her? No. I'm not ready to explain ALL that to a 4-year-old. Later, after DH tried to correct her, we settled on my explanation that only girls have babies because only girls have mommy parts because "God made us that way." And, no, now is not the time to tell her about the guy on Oprah who is pregnant. Come on-- she's only four. There's time to explain that later.

And M isn't alone in her big thoughts. K told me the other day that she thinks she'd rather just skip high school "because high school kids do really dumb stuff." Oh, sweetheart, if only I could get that tattoed across your forehead so you can remember that in 8 years.

The irony of this is that K and M won't stop talking, and L just can't very well. She seems to try really hard but not make much progress. Have you ever really watched an ant push a piece of food up a hill that is too steep to make it? He'll push and push and almost get there but not actually reach his goal? Well, that's kind of how I feel about L. She's pushing and pushing but isn't making much progress and is starting to get frustrated. I hate to see her frustrated, and I hate feeling helpless, and truth-be-told, I'm going nuts with all the "eh-eh-eh" and whining that results from her frustration. We all want her to speak!

So, after an official evaluation last week, L qualified for speech services. I'm very relieved. Now she can get some help, some new tricks. Now I don't feel helpless; I feel empowered. I feel like I am finally able to help her push that piece of food up the rest of the hill, and I'm confidant that once she does get to the top of the hill, she'll fly down the other side in no time flat. Soon, she'll be adding to the cacophony that can only be called our home.